By Carmen Gentile (IPS) - Rivers like this one in southern Haiti are clogged with silt and stones due to deforestation in the surrounding hills.
Dardy Saint-Jean gazes at the rock-strewn river coursing through his village and shakes his head in disgust.

“Look at this river — it’s filled with stones from the mountains,” said Saint-Jean, referring to decades of erosion caused by the deforestation that has stripped Haiti of much of its green cover.

The destruction is blamed on necessities of daily life here in this poor Caribbean nation, where the majority of the populace subsists on less than one dollar a day and public utilities are unreliable and far from universal. (more…)

La dirigencia de la Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca, pidieron a sus miembros sumarse a las acciones anunciadas para este lunes en contra de la “Guelaguetza comercial” promovida por el gobernador Ulises Ruiz, a la vez que dieron un ultimátum a la autoridad regional para que libere a sus compañeros que permanecen como “presos políticos”.

Profesores de la Sección 22 del Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE) y simpatizantes de la Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (APPO) en México, nuevamente se manifestaron el domingo en contra del segundo “Lunes del cerro”, en la Guelaguetza.

Los miembros de la APPO y del  SNTE también hicieron un llamado al pueblo a mantenerse atento a las acciones a realizarse este lunes para el “Boicot” de la celebración promovida por el gobernador de la sureña entidad de Oaxaca, Ulises Ruiz. (more…)

“Considero que al pueblo venezolano debe dársele el derecho a mantener a un Presidente o Presidenta el tiempo que el pueblo quiera, bien sea cinco años, dos años, doce años o 40 años. Lo que el pueblo diga”, subrayó Chávez en su programa dominical “Aló, Presidente”.

Asimismo, se mostró confiado en que “el pueblo venezolano demuestre conciencia y de respaldo a mis humildes propuestas”.

En relación a las criticas de sus opositores, quienes aseguran que la intención del mandatario venezolano, es imponerse en el poder e instaurar una dictadura, Chávez aseguró que sus ataques lo hacen más fuerte.

“Mis amigos de la oposición ya me conocen. Mientras más ataquen la reforma constitucional, yo avanzo más, le pongo más. Sabré defender, exponer y convencer a la mayoría de los venezolanos de la necesidad de la reforma integral que estoy proponiendo”, advirtió. (more…)

Cuba’s acting President, Raul Castro, has announced that municipal elections will be held on 21 October.
This marks the start of an electoral process which could clarify early next year whether his brother Fidel Castro will resume power as head of state.

Fidel Castro is currently convalescing from intestinal surgery.

Cuba’s municipal and provincial bodies elect candidates for the National Assembly, which next March must decide who becomes the president of Cuba.

Local elections, are the one chance Cubans have to directly choose their representatives. Candidates must be nominated but in these polls, which are officially non-partisan, they do not have to be members of the Communist Party. (more…)

The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia, what did you find to be the biggest misconception that people in the United States have about the struggles facing many of the indigenous people in Latin and South America?

Ben Dangl: There is a lot of romanticizing about the realities of indigenous struggles in South America, that these groups are all extremely democratic and united across borders. Many indigenous organizations in Bolivia for example are very hierarchical and totally dominated by men. Another misconception is that the electoral victory of indigenous president Evo Morales in Bolivia is a maximum victory for indigenous struggles in South America. It is symbolically, culturally and socially important, and can help to end a certain amount of racism and disregard for indigenous customs and culture. But outside of just being president, Evo has to do things to aid in the self-determination and empowerment of indigenous groups. For this to happen – both in Bolivia and elsewhere - there needs to pressure from below from these groups for change. (more…)

En el altiplánico departamento de Puno, en Perú, las aulas de clases aún se mantienen vacías por decisión de los docentes que expresaron su voluntad de mantenerse en pie de lucha para lograr la derogación de la Ley de Carrera Pública Magisterial, mientras anuncian que el 27 de julio, retomarán sus actividades de calle.

Los docentes del departamento de Puno (sureste de Perú) pese a que decidieron no retomar las actividades escolares, tal como lo acordó la dirigencia del Sindicato de Unitario de Trabajadores en la Educación del Perú (Sutep) en Lima, acordaron dar tregua a las protestas de calle.

César Tito Rojas, secretario departamental del gremio magisterial dijo que la tregua servirá para evaluar las nuevas acciones que seguirán los maestros de Puno, quienes decidieron mantener la huelga que ya alcanza 33 días, en rechazo a la Ley de Carrera Pública Magisterial. (more…)

Unlike some other crossings that are tightly controlled, Haitians pass freely back and forth during the week. No immigration checks occur until buses are stopped at the fort leaving the town.

Still, relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic are so delicate that the theft of a motorbike, which precipitated a melee along the Pedernales River last week, drew the intervention of the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti and representatives of both the national governments. (more…)

Ofrendas florales, el tradicional izado del Pabellón y una interpretación del Himno Nacional de los países bolivarianos, fueron los actos que dieron inicio en el Panteón Nacional de Caracas a la conmemoración del 224 aniversario del natalicio de El Libertador Simón Bolívar.

Las ofrendas ante los restos del padre de la Patria estuvieron a cargo de representantes de la Presidencia de la República, la Asamblea Nacional (AN), el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (TSJ), el Consejo Moral Republicano y el Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE).

También ofrendaron los embajadores y encargados de negocios de las repúblicas de Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá y Perú, países cuyos himnos nacionales fueron entonados.

Por la Fuerza Armada Nacional (FAN), que además celebra el Día de la Armada (fuerza naval), el ministro de Defensa y los integrantes del Alto Mando de la Armada interpretaron el “Canto Épico de las Fuerzas Navales”. (more…)

Adapting to climate change in the island nations of the Caribbean, a region particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, requires strengthening collective responses based on exchange and cooperation.

One example of joint action is the agreement signed Tuesday by Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, to create what is known as the Caribbean Biological Corridor, aimed at protecting the environment and human development.

The main challenge is to adapt to forthcoming changes, but the difficulty for science is identifying what adaptations will be necessary. “One country on its own cannot face this challenge,” said Abel Centella, assistant science director of the Cuban Institute of Meteorology, in support of climate change cooperation programmes.

As an example of a joint effort, the expert described the PRECIS Caribbean Project, a regional initiative to share experiences, human resources, information technology and financial resources, scientific results and useful information. (more…)

On Thursday June 21, 2007 at 11:52 p.m., Congress voted on the McGovern/Lewis Amendment curtailing funds to the former School of the Americas (SOA), now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) after PR consultants suggested a name-change to improve its image. With an outcome of 214 to 203, the school survived by a slender margin of six votes, leaving the amendment defeated and the military school open. Of Democrats voting, only 42 out of 180 cast ballots to continue funding the institute, while 172 Republican Representatives voted against the measure.

According to the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), a human rights organization and advocacy group founded in 1990 by Father Maryknoll Roy Bourgeois, “the WHINSEC PR machine and high ranking Pentagon officials used taxpayer money to put a lot of pressure on members of Congress.” Thus, Congressional representatives—who initially had committed themselves to cut funding to the WHINSEC—succumbed to these Pentagon pressures and shifted their votes. (more…)